Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Kevin Nolan: I Was Never a Painter. I Was an Entrepreneur.
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Kevin Nolan: I Was Never a Painter. I Was an Entrepreneur.
He built the largest painting company in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Then he let go. Kevin Nolan on identity, succession, and the happiest chapter yet.
Kevin Nolan started with a paintbrush, a roommate, and a college student's ambition. Forty years later he'd built the largest residential painting company in Southeastern Pennsylvania — and done something most founders never manage.
He actually let go.
In this episode, Matt Stone sits down with Kevin for a wide-ranging conversation about what an entrepreneurial life really looks like across four decades. The 17 years Kevin spent grinding in the dark with no business plan, just payroll on Friday. The Zig Ziglar moment at 37 that changed everything. How he found his CEO and CFO hiding on his own paint crews. And what those final 18 months felt like — staying quiet in meetings he used to run.
In September 2024, Kevin retired. He says it felt like rocks coming off his shoulders.
This is a conversation about identity, legacy, and the courage it takes to step into something new.
In this episode:
- Why Kevin says he was never a painter — even when he was painting
- The Zig Ziglar line that launched his "second entrepreneurial seizure" at 37
- How John (an Eagle Scout from Sherwin-Williams) became his CEO 30 years later
- The 20-foot KPI wall — including profit — that every employee could see
- What emotional intelligence looks like inside a trades business
- The Wally story: why great leaders run toward conflict, not away
- Writing the final chapter of his career — before it happened
- September 2024: retirement and the rocks off his shoulders
- Running a marathon in all 50 states — and what that taught him about business
- Graduating 2,300th out of 2,600 at Villanova. And why he's glad he did.
Resources mentioned:
- Organizational Muscle by Kevin Nolan — https://a.co/d/0gywqBST
- Good to Great — Jim Collins
- Emotional Intelligence — Daniel Goleman
- The E-Myth Revisited — Michael Gerber
- How to Win Friends and Influence People — Dale Carnegie
- How to Stop Worrying and Start Living — Dale Carnegie
Connect with Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjnolan1/
Connect with Matt: Website: thebiggerstage.com
Email: [email protected]
View all episodes
By Matt Stone EnterprisesHe built the largest painting company in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Then he let go. Kevin Nolan on identity, succession, and the happiest chapter yet.
Kevin Nolan started with a paintbrush, a roommate, and a college student's ambition. Forty years later he'd built the largest residential painting company in Southeastern Pennsylvania — and done something most founders never manage.
He actually let go.
In this episode, Matt Stone sits down with Kevin for a wide-ranging conversation about what an entrepreneurial life really looks like across four decades. The 17 years Kevin spent grinding in the dark with no business plan, just payroll on Friday. The Zig Ziglar moment at 37 that changed everything. How he found his CEO and CFO hiding on his own paint crews. And what those final 18 months felt like — staying quiet in meetings he used to run.
In September 2024, Kevin retired. He says it felt like rocks coming off his shoulders.
This is a conversation about identity, legacy, and the courage it takes to step into something new.
In this episode:
- Why Kevin says he was never a painter — even when he was painting
- The Zig Ziglar line that launched his "second entrepreneurial seizure" at 37
- How John (an Eagle Scout from Sherwin-Williams) became his CEO 30 years later
- The 20-foot KPI wall — including profit — that every employee could see
- What emotional intelligence looks like inside a trades business
- The Wally story: why great leaders run toward conflict, not away
- Writing the final chapter of his career — before it happened
- September 2024: retirement and the rocks off his shoulders
- Running a marathon in all 50 states — and what that taught him about business
- Graduating 2,300th out of 2,600 at Villanova. And why he's glad he did.
Resources mentioned:
- Organizational Muscle by Kevin Nolan — https://a.co/d/0gywqBST
- Good to Great — Jim Collins
- Emotional Intelligence — Daniel Goleman
- The E-Myth Revisited — Michael Gerber
- How to Win Friends and Influence People — Dale Carnegie
- How to Stop Worrying and Start Living — Dale Carnegie
Connect with Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjnolan1/
Connect with Matt: Website: thebiggerstage.com
Email: [email protected]